Authorities Issue Warning About “One-Ring” Phone Scam

PHILADELPHIA (CBS ) — Authorities are warning folks to be aware of what they are calling a “one-ring” phone scam.

The scam works when people are baited into calling a phone number back after their phone rings once and then the caller hangs up.

“The phone numbers look like they have a regular area code and phone number,” says Andrew Goode with the Better Business Bureau, “but they’re actually an overseas number, and the way the laws work in those countries is it’s essentially a paid for call when you call back, so you’re paying for the time as well as potentially international call charges and they get crammed into your phone bill.”

Goode says the scam preys on people who are curious about the abandoned call.

“The people who are being affected by this are young folks,” he says, “because they’re more curious about who called them and they’re less apt to leave phone messages.”

If you don’t recognize the number and you’re curious, Goode has a suggestion:

“If they want, they can Google the number and check to see whether there are reports about it on the Internet,” says Goode. “An 809, 876, 284, 473 area code, those are all overseas area codes that we know have generated some of these calls.”

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Hadas Kuznits has been as a news writer/reporter for KYW Newsradio since September 2002, and has traveled the city — and the world — while covering stories for Newsradio.
She is also the host of KYW's series "What's Cooking on 1060!" -- covering...